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Open letter from The BMJ to Mark Zuckerberg
by 380° Dec. 21, 2021

Dec. 21, 2021

Buonasera nexiane, perfino gli editori del British Medical Journal si sono visti costretti a protestare in merito al "fact cheking" di Meta, non sono le uniche vittime di quel sistema. https://www.bmj.com/content/375/bmj.n2635/rr-80 «Open letter from The BMJ to Mark Zuckerberg» --8<---------------cut here---------------start------------->8--- Dear Mark Zuckerberg, We are Fiona Godlee and Kamran Abbasi, editors of The BMJ, one of the world’s oldest and most influential general medical journals. We are writing to raise serious concerns about the “fact checking” being undertaken by third party providers on behalf of Facebook/Meta. In September, a former employee of Ventavia, a contract research company helping carry out the main Pfizer covid-19 vaccine trial, began providing The BMJ with dozens of internal company documents, photos, audio recordings, and emails. These materials revealed a host of poor clinical trial research practices occurring at Ventavia that could impact data integrity and patient safety. We also discovered that, despite receiving a direct complaint about these problems over a year ago, the FDA did not inspect Ventavia’s trial sites. The BMJ commissioned an investigative reporter to write up the story for our journal. The article was published on 2 November, following legal review, external peer review and subject to The BMJ’s usual high level editorial oversight and review.[1] But from November 10, readers began reporting a variety of problems when trying to share our article. Some reported being unable to share it. Many others reported having their posts flagged with a warning about “Missing context ... Independent fact-checkers say this information could mislead people.” Those trying to post the article were informed by Facebook that people who repeatedly share “false information” might have their posts moved lower in Facebook’s News Feed. Group administrators where the article was shared received messages from Facebook informing them that such posts were “partly false.” Readers were directed to a “fact check” performed by a Facebook contractor named Lead Stories.[2] We find the “fact check” performed by Lead Stories to be inaccurate, incompetent and irresponsible. -- It fails to provide any assertions of fact that The BMJ article got wrong -- It has a nonsensical title: “Fact Check: The British Medical Journal Did NOT Reveal Disqualifying And Ignored Reports Of Flaws In Pfizer COVID-19 Vaccine Trials” -- The first paragraph inaccurately labels The BMJ a “news blog” -- It contains a screenshot of our article with a stamp over it stating “Flaws Reviewed,” despite the Lead Stories article not identifying anything false or untrue in The BMJ article -- It published the story on its website under a URL that contains the phrase “hoax-alert” We have contacted Lead Stories, but they refuse to change anything about their article or actions that have led to Facebook flagging our article. We have also contacted Facebook directly, requesting immediate removal of the “fact checking” label and any link to the Lead Stories article, thereby allowing our readers to freely share the article on your platform. There is also a wider concern that we wish to raise. We are aware that The BMJ is not the only high quality information provider to have been affected by the incompetence of Meta’s fact checking regime. To give one other example, we would highlight the treatment by Instagram (also owned by Meta) of Cochrane, the international provider of high quality systematic reviews of the medical evidence.[3] Rather than investing a proportion of Meta’s substantial profits to help ensure the accuracy of medical information shared through social media, you have apparently delegated responsibility to people incompetent in carrying out this crucial task. Fact checking has been a staple of good journalism for decades. What has happened in this instance should be of concern to anyone who values and relies on sources such as The BMJ. We hope you will act swiftly: specifically to correct the error relating to The BMJ’s article and to review the processes that led to the error; and generally to reconsider your investment in and approach to fact checking overall. Best wishes, Fiona Godlee, editor in chief Kamran Abbasi, incoming editor in chief The BMJ Competing interests: As current and incoming editors in chief, we are responsible for everything The BMJ contains. References: [1] Thacker PD. Covid-19: Researcher blows the whistle on data integrity issues in Pfizer's vaccine trial. BMJ. 2021 Nov 2;375:n2635. doi: 10.1136/bmj.n2635. PMID: 34728500. https://www.bmj.com/content/375/bmj.n2635 [2] Miller D. Fact Check: The British Medical Journal Did NOT Reveal Disqualifying And Ignored Reports Of Flaws In Pfizer COVID-19 Vaccine Trials. Nov 10, 2021. https://leadstories.com/hoax-alert/2021/11/fact-check-british-medical-jo... [3] https://twitter.com/cochranecollab/status/1458439812357185536 --8<---------------cut here---------------end--------------->8--- -- 380° (Giovanni Biscuolo public alter ego) «Noi, incompetenti come siamo, non abbiamo alcun titolo per suggerire alcunché» Disinformation flourishes because many people care deeply about injustice but very few check the facts. Ask me about <https://stallmansupport.org>.

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Incidents of digital fraud in Bihar panchayat polls raise questions on biometric system - Hindustan Times
by Alberto Cammozzo Dec. 21, 2021

Dec. 21, 2021

Cominciam la Biometric Chernobyl <https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/patna-news/incidents-of-digital-fraud…> Bihar’s ongoing 11-phase panchayat polls, having introduced a biometric system for voters’ verification at the polling booths, may have curbed bogus voting, but instances of cyber fraud have raised a question mark on the system being foolproof. The State Election Commission (SEC), holding the panchayat polls, has now taken a slew of measures to strengthen the system by putting strict checks on personnel handling the machines and capturing fingerprints of voters in the machines for verification and restricting the use of mobiles at the booths. This comes after reports of fraudsters taking out money from accounts of voters by taking their fingerprints wrongly in other devices emerged. *How it happened * In Munger district, during the ninth phase of polling on November 29, over a dozen voters were at wit’s end when they found to their dismay that money had been debited from their accounts to the tune of ₹5000-10000 just one hour after they had cast their votes at booth number 145 in village Charaun under Munger Sadar block falling under Muffasil police station. The victims, including some women, immediately rushed to the booths and created a hue and cry. SDM, Sadar, Munger, Khushboo Gupta, after reaching the booth, questioned one Ravi Kumar handling the biometric machines and subsequently, unravelled how he was the one who had secretly taken the fingerprints of the voters on his phone before they had put their fingerprints in the biometric machine to cast their votes. Police investigations found Kumar, now lodged in jail after the arrest, was working in one nearby common service centres (CSC) kiosk that provides various government-related services to villagers including cash transactions of a rural bank, which had its sole branch in the village. People familiar with the matter said Kumar had his login ID through which he had access to the bank accounts of the voters having accounts in the branch. The bank accounts of villagers could be assessed by the agents working at the CSC (also known as cash, sale point) by getting a thumb impression and Aadhaar Card details easily. Fraudulent withdrawal of money is possible as the personnel have access to login IDs and also get OTP (one–time password) on behalf of the account holders, as told by those in the know of the functioning of the CSCs. For the biometric system used in panchayat polls, thousands of agents working at the CSCs across Bihar at the village level had been roped in. “Ravi Kumar had an application loaded on his phone through which he managed to access accounts of the victims through fingerprints taken on his phone and Aadhaar card details. He made a login of the bank from one Guddu in Banka,” said SDM, Munger. “He was taking fingerprints of the voters twice, once for the phone and second for the biometric machine to cast votes,” the SDM added. DSP (headquarter) Munger, Alok Ranjan, who is now the acting SP, Munger, said investigations were still going on. *Another case * Incidentally, similar complaints of fraudulent withdrawal of money from bank accounts of around 30 persons came to light on the same day (November 29) at booth number 81 and 133 in Baisi block soon after the persons cheated had cast their votes during the ninth phase of polling. All the victims hailed from Surgaon, Kumharwa, Baisi, Mobehaa, Chairaiya and Rehuya panchayat in Baisi block in Purnea district, one of the poverty-stricken districts in the state bordering West Bengal. An inquiry conducted by SP Purnea, Daya Shankar, submitted to DM, Purnea, Rahul Kumar mentions that of the 30 persons who lodged complaints of losing money through fraudulent withdrawals, six did not cast their votes. The report also said that on 29 November, money from the bank accounts of 27 people was fraudulently withdrawn while on November 28 three others were cheated. “It has come to light that around four months back some unidentified persons took fingerprints of villagers in the name of providing loans. A few days ahead of the election, some microfinancing company officials got money transacted on behalf of small account holders by taking fingerprints from the CSP agents,” the report said. According to the police report, one Mohammed Amir alias Khushro had been arrested a few months back on charges of fraudulently withdrawing cash from the accounts of some persons through the biometric system on the complaint in Amour police station dated 8.9.2021. However, police have not made any arrests connected to fraudulent withdrawals of money from bank accounts of 30 persons in Baisi so far. “No arrests have been made so far. Investigations are going on,” said DM, Purnea. *Vulnerability of biometric system* The instances of fraudulent withdrawal of money from bank accounts of voters just after they cast their votes in the panchayat election has raised a few questions about the ‘foolproof’ biometric system to verify voters’ identity. Questions are being raised whether voters’ thumb impression could be misused. Deputy director-general, department of telecom, Government of India, Atul Sinha, feels the biometric system is surely a good method for voters verification as it is linked with Aadhaar but sometimes thumb impression could be misused. “There are certain vulnerabilities as a thumb impression given wrongly or taken wrongly in any other device for ulterior motives could be misused by fraudsters. But, I want to say the biometric system for voters verification, once having recording thumb impression of any person, cannot be manipulated or misused”. State Election Commissioner Dr Deepak Prasad too made a strong argument that the biometric system of voters’ identification used in panchayat polls was foolproof asserting that the case of fraudulent withdrawal of money in Munger did not happen from the voters’ biometric machine. “It’s just an isolated instance in Munger where a person with ulterior motives manipulated the system by using his own device that was detected later. In Purnea, there is still no evidence that the fraudulent cash withdrawals were carried out through any manipulation of our biometric system because some of the fraudulent withdrawals were as big as ₹30000 to ₹40000. The upper limit of withdrawal from CSC points at the villages is only ₹10000,” he said. Digital fraud through the thumb impression of voters in Munger and Purnea has brought the CSC personnel, deployed to handle biometric machines at the booths during panchayat election voting, under the scanner. One, it has exposed how a CSC personnel used a device of his own to secretly take fingerprint impressions of voters having bank accounts and withdraw money. Secondly, it has raised a question as to whether it was right on part of the SEC to hire the CSCs agents (working on commission) to handle biometric machines at the booths. SEC, Dr Prasad, maintained the poll panel decided to hire CSCs personnel for using biometric machines as the work required certain technical know-how. Also, CSCs personnel were working under government bodies as all the CSCs schemes are IT-enabled, e-governance services under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology. “In every phase, 12,000 personnel of CSCs were roped in through randomization. But there has been an unfortunate case of cheating by one personnel. So, the percentage of personnel indulging in fraud is negligible and more or less, the system of biometric was not manipulated either. We decided to hire CSCs because they were working in government services. We did not hire any private persons for the work,” he said. Prasad also said the Baisi case of fraud seemingly looks like a handiwork of some local gangs as well some elements who are against the biometric system because it has checked the bogus voting. “I cannot deny the possibility of a conspiracy in the works to defame the biometric system of voters verification because it has brought in transparency in the voting system and also checked bogus voting. On average, 12000 to 15000 persons have been caught trying to put bogus vote during the 10-phase election so far,” he said. The 11 phase panchayat polls will conclude on December 12. Nonetheless, the SEC said the state poll panel had further strengthened the checks in place for personnel handling biometric machines at booths by issuing instructions to DMs that no CSCs personnel would be allowed to take phones and the login ID’s would be kept inactive on the voting day. “We feel such instances would not take place anymore,” Prasad said.

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pandemia e voto elettronico, due pesi e due misure?
by Andrea Trentini Dec. 21, 2021

Dec. 21, 2021

Ciao, condivido con voi un "pensiero" che mi ronza in testa in questi giorni in cui vedo passare l'appello (inascoltato?) sui pericoli[*] del voto online: perché sul tema Covid si sbandiera sempre un "bisogna ascoltare la scienza!" (medica in questo caso) mentre sul tema del voto online non c'è altrettanta sensibilità? Forse che la nostra scienza (informatica) non è percepita come tale? [*] che condivido pienamente e per questo vorrei firmare la lettera anche in persona, non solo come GRIN. -- |_|o|_| Andrea Trentini - http://atrent.it |_|_|o| Dipartimento di Informatica |o|o|o| Università degli Studi di Milano

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Google warns that NSO hacking is on par with elite nation-state spies | Ars Technica
by J.C. DE MARTIN Dec. 20, 2021

Dec. 20, 2021

https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2021/12/google-warns-that-ns… (Sent from my wireless device; please excuse brevity and typos (if any))

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Big Tech is playing a financial shell game | Financial Times
by J.C. DE MARTIN Dec. 20, 2021

Dec. 20, 2021

https://www.ft.com/content/99ca12c5-498e-4ee4-8046-a27cd0a1038b (Sent from my wireless device; please excuse brevity and typos (if any))

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PrivacyInternational: "Data Interception Environment"
by J.C. DE MARTIN Dec. 20, 2021

Dec. 20, 2021

Data Interception Environment The Data Interception Environment (DIE) is a tool that you can use to analyse how your data is being used by app developers and third parties. It allows you to see how apps are sending your data from your device back to the company or to third parties. We’ve used the DIE to research everything from low cost phones, to menstruation apps, and now we’re making it available so that you can do your own research on how your devices use your data. You can download the DIE on our GitHub <https://github.com/privacyint/appdata-environment-desktop/tree/update-3> where you can also find documentation for how to use it. Below you can also find a video how to, which goes through how to set up the DIE and how to get started analysing apps, and a written how to. PI has made this tool available to assist individuals, researchers and organisations in developing a technical understanding of how their own data is being captured, processed and transferred by applications to 3rd parties. It should *only* be used to analyse data on a device, virtual copy of a device, or an app, which the user owns or is legally authorised to use. PI is a charity registered in England and Wales. We have developed our Data Interception Environment tool in accordance with the laws, regulations and standards that apply to us in England and Wales. Any individual, researcher or organisation who makes use of of PI’s Data Interception Environemnt is responsible for ensuring that they are acting lawfully and in accordance with the laws, regulations and standards which apply to them in the jurisdiction they are operating in or to which they are subject. https://privacyinternational.org/learn/data-interception-environment

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Re: [nexa] Una vita senza Big Tech, storie di chi cerca alternative ai giganti del web
by Giuseppe Attardi Dec. 20, 2021

Dec. 20, 2021

Molto bello e tutti molto bravi. Cruciale l’osservazione finale di Filippo Della Bianca: “bisogna staccarsi da questa dipemdenza, il primo passo è quello più difficile”. E il passo precedente è rendersi conto della dipendenza. — Beppe > On 20 Dec 2021, at 09:57, nexa-request(a)server-nexa.polito.it wrote: > > Date: Sun, 19 Dec 2021 20:35:13 +0100 > From: Giacomo Tesio <giacomo(a)tesio.it> > To: nexa(a)server-nexa.polito.it > Subject: [nexa] Una vita senza Big Tech, storie di chi cerca > alternative ai giganti del web > Message-ID: <20211219203513.000013f1(a)tesio.it> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII > > Salve Nexa, > > vi segnalo un bel documentario divulgativo di Andrea Lattanzi [1] che ha > vinto il Premio giornalistico under 35 "Letizia Leviti" [2] > > Sono inclusi contributi di: > > - Filippo Della Bianca - fondatore di Mastodon.uno - Gruppo DEVOL > - Andrea Guani - ideatore sito "Le Alternative" > - Bertrando Goio - Mondo Linux > - Stefano Quintarelli (non ha bisogno di presentazioni, qui :-) > - Enrico Sacchi - Ingegnere Elettronico e Self-hoster > - Mirco Conti - Fridays for future Italia > - Gael Duval - e.Foundation > > https://peertube.devol.it/w/39f04ed0-f57f-4db1-9050-9e3e3c5f984c > > > Giacomo > > [1] https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrealattanzi/ > > [2] > https://www.lanazione.it/firenze/cronaca/andrea-lattanzi-vince-il-premio-le… >

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Pianeta, innovazione e democrazia, la nostra missione
by don Luca Peyron Dec. 20, 2021

Dec. 20, 2021

Nel link la prolusione della presidente della Commissione europea Ursula von der Leyen per l'inaugurazione dell'anno accademico della Cattolica di ieri. Parole interessanti per la nostra lista mi pare. Buona settimana dl https://secondotempo.cattolicanews.it/news-pianeta-innovazione-e-democrazia… _________________________ don Luca Peyron Direttore Ufficio per la Pastorale Universitaria Arcidiocesi di Torino www.universitari.to.it via XX settembre 83, Torino tel. 011 5156239

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Re: [nexa] Mozione sul Voto Elettronico GII-GRIN
by maurizio lana Dec. 20, 2021

Dec. 20, 2021

Il 19/12/21 19:21, Enrico Nardelli ha scritto: > Ricontrollato adesso (19:18) e scarica il PDF. In ogni caso, è in allegato qua. grazie Enrico! a leggerlo capisco che ING-INF/05 e INF/01 citino questo documento, ma temo che sia inadatto per comunicare verso un pubblico inesperto. tempo fa si era parlato qui in lista di un video americano che spiega i difetti del voto elettronico, e di cui era stata fatta la versione italiana - ma non riesco a ritrovare nome, messaggi, titolo, nulla. qualcuno ...capisce di cosa sto parlando? grazie dell'aiuto Maurizio -- https://maurobiani.it/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/gioia-zaki.png ----- Maurizio Lana Dipartimento di Studi Umanistici Università del Piemonte Orientale piazza Roma 36 - 13100 Vercelli tel. +39 347 7370925

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When Amazon Expands, These Communities Pay the Price - Consumer Reports
by J.C. DE MARTIN Dec. 19, 2021

Dec. 19, 2021

https://www.consumerreports.org/corporate-accountability/when-amazon-expand… (Sent from my wireless device; please excuse brevity and typos (if any))

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